We will be a party of 4 - 3 adults and an 11 year old.
One of our adults will be spending about half their time at the resort just relaxing with a book. He enjoys peace and quiet and would prefer somewhere he could sit outside on a balcony or deck type of setting.
He is my priority in the resort decision.
Thoughts?
Moderates don't have balconies and are really spread out -- is this adult older? There can be a lot of walking involved, maybe that's good and maybe not so good depending on the adult. Would the 4 of you be staying in one room? WL/AKL would be very tight in a regular room.
I'm thinking in terms if we were taking my parent, as an example, and I would look into Poly, GF, or BC/YC. Poly has that calming/tropical feel to it and you have a pretty good chance of getting a balcony/patio with the 1st or 3rd floors. There are also quiet spots to find all around the beach area. Also, a nice lobby to sit in, nice shopping, and fast-food for a snack/drink. Also nice restaurants for all of you to enjoy.
In the Epcot area, personally, we love the BC over the YC, but in thinking of my parent alone, the YC would have that balcony and be quieter in general. My parents have stayed at the BC and loved it -- they actually liked walking down to the boardwalk and sitting on benches there, and also sitting in a lounge chair on the beach. Both quiet areas. But the BC rooms don't all have balconies...YC better chance of balcony. Also, at the pool, there is an area up some stairs that is a lot quieter than sitting at the main pool level. I like to go up there and read.
My final and possibly my best recommendation is GF. The lobby is exquisite, very relaxing with a piano player, lots of couches/chairs. Great shopping. We LOVED our balcony overlooking the courtyard....very pretty and relaxing. Expensive place, but can't get much better in terms of luxury.
Really, it depends on the 3rd adult and what his tastes are. Both of my parents love the BC and they would probably love GF. I have close friends whose parents swear by the YC, but it's not my personal favorite. All of these parents are age 70/80 and mainly hang around the resorts.